This volume introduces a systematic approach to the solution of some mathematical problems that arise in the study of the hyperbolic-parabolic systems of equations that govern the motions of thermodynamic fluids. It is intended for a wide audience of theoretical and applied mathematicians with an interest in compressible flow, capillarity theory, and control theory. The focus is particularly on recent results concerning nonlinear asymptotic stability, which are independent of assumptions about the smallness of the initial data. Of particular interest is the loss of control that sometimes results when steady flows of compressible fluids are upset by large disturbances. The main ideas are illustrated in the context of three different physical problems: (i) A barotropic viscous gas in a fixed domain with compact boundary. The domain may be either an exterior domain or a bounded domain, and the boundary may be either impermeable or porous. (ii) An isothermal viscous gas in a domain with free boundaries. (iii) A heat-conducting, viscous polytropic gas.

The International Society for the Interaction of Mechanics and Mathematics has a long-standing and respected tradition of hosting symposia that provide a forum for disseminating new developments and methods. Trends in Applications of Mathematics to Mechanics represents the proceedings of the eleventh such symposium, held at the University of Nice in May 1998.
Comprising invited lectures and refereed papers, this volume includes recent results that open perspectives on fields in mechanics and their methodological counterparts in mathematics. It also surveys important advances in the areas where mathematics and mechanics interact. The applications addressed include: